Deliver a Next-Generation Firewall to Fight New-Generation Threats

Short Summary: How do you offer customers protection from the onslaught of billions of connected devices knocking on their networks’ door? With network attack surfaces being as large as they are — and with the vast majority of cyber attacks inflicted by internal threats — you need to help customers bring their security up to par.

Robots in the warehouse? Smart meters? Wearable medical devices? Today, just about every “thing” can connect to a computer over the Internet. Technology consulting firm Gartner estimates that 6.4 billion connected devices will be in use worldwide this year, and predicts that number will grow to nearly 21 billion by 2020.

The Internet of Things (IoT) boosts productivity in just about every industry. But consider the security risks. If just about anything can be connected, then just about anything connected can be hacked.

This begs the question: How do you offer customers protection from the onslaught of billions of connected devices knocking on their networks’ door? With network attack surfaces being as large as they are — and with the vast majority of cyber attacks inflicted by internal threats — you need to help customers bring their security up to par.

Conventional Firewalls Can’t Stand Up To Advanced Threats

Before the IoT revolution, the standard go-to technology was a firewall to monitor traffic going in and out of the network.

But conventional firewalls lack the stamina to stand up to the onslaught of communications through billions of connected devices. It’s no longer enough to “patch” spotty security holes; or rely on technology that can’t protect data or secure connections between the network and devices. Next Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) have emerged to address these shortcomings by offering:

360-degree Visibility

Traditional firewalls monitor traffic from OSI Layers 2 through 4, which doesn’t help when attacks enter through layers 5 to 7. NGFWs offer full network visibility by monitoring layers 2 to 7, so you can stop small threats from escalating to big disasters.

Pattern and Behavior Detection

An Intrusion Protection System (IPS) detects attacks through threat signatures and other methods, checking for anomalies in traffic patterns and analyzing behavior. Traditional firewalls monitor traffic without actually inspecting it, requiring IT to add an IPS as a separate appliance. For example, if a packet comes in on Port 80 (HTTP), a traditional firewall assumes it’s HTTP traffic, giving hackers an opening to infiltrate the network with malicious programs and code disguised as HTTP traffic.

NGFWs, on the other hand, have IPS technology built in. They don’t believe everything they see, and can detect traffic patterns and behaviors to stop hackers before they get in the door.

High Performance at Low-latency

NGFWs deliver high firewall performance with low latency, even down to 2 microseconds. With a content processor that works outside direct traffic, they offer high-speed cryptography and content inspection without separate appliances.

The Power of Next Generation Firewalls

With more and more devices connecting to networks, your customers need an information security platform that provides effective data protection and high network performance simultaneously. Next-generation firewalls are the answer.

A partner of Fortinet, you can deliver a state-of-the-art NGFW solution that performs at wire speeds and is validated by independent testing authorities. Let us know how we can help.

Fine Tec is a value-added distributor of leading cybersecurity products from Fortinet.